Samuel E. Lichtenberger

Samuel E. Lichtenberger, 67, of Wren, died at 1:02 a.m. Tuesday, January 11, 2011, at the Van Wert Inpatient Hospice Center. He was born May 4, 1943, in Wren, the son of the late Dallas Harold and Nellie (Burk) Lichtenberger. He married Catherine (Stidham) Lichtenberger, who survives in Wren. Other survivors include two children, Leslie […]

Samuel D. Evans

Samuel D. Evans, 38, of Van Wert, died at 6:45 p.m. Sunday, January 9, 2011, at the Van Wert Inpatient Hospice Center. He was born August 2, 1972, in Van Wert, the son of Cherrie D. (Coon) Evans, who survives in Van Wert, and the late Gordon D. Evans, who preceded him in death February […]

Joanne Krywalski

Joanne Krywalski, 80, of Van Wert, died at 7:13 p.m. Wednesday, January 5, 2011, at the Van Wert Inpatient Hospice Center. She was born May 22, 1930, in Van Wert, the daughter of the late Roy and Maude (Allison) Hartman. In 1983, she married Daniel Krywalski, who preceded her in death on July 4, 2002. […]

Loren W. Collins

Loren W. “Woodie” Collins, 84, of Convoy, died at 8:35 a.m. Wednesday, January 5, 2011, at Vancrest Health Care Center of Convoy. He was born September 26, 1926, in Van Wert, the son of the late Ray T. and Hattie E. (Taylor) Collins. He first married Betty R. (Schaffner) Collins, who died in 1994. He […]

Walter L. Stephens Sr.

Walter L. Stephens Sr., 68, of Van Wert, died at 11:19 a.m. Wednesday, January 5, 2011, at St. Rita’s Medical Center in Lima. He was born June 19, 1942, in Deer Lodge, Tenn., the son of the late James Elbert and Ova (Hurst) Stephens. He married Erma (Lantis) Stephens, who survives in Van Wert. Other […]

Charles Bradley Heinze III

Charles Bradley Heinze III, 2 ½ months, died at 2:12 p.m. Tuesday, January 4, 2011, in the emergency room at Paulding County Hospital in Paulding. He was born October 23, 2010, in Van Wert, the son of Charles Heinze Jr. and Chanel Crouse, both of whom survive in Payne. Survivors include five brothers and two […]

Cougars lose first game of season

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports A sloppy game against Western Buckeye League rival Celina cost the Van Wert Cougars not only their perfect season record, but sole possession of first place in the league. The Cougars struggled offensively, missing layup after layup and squandering fast-break attempts when the ball was either not caught by its intended target […]

State unemployment rate down again

Van Wert independent/ODJFS information Ohio’s unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in December, down from 9.8 percent in November, according to data released this morning by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). Ohio’s nonfarm wage and salary employment decreased 9,100 over the month, from the revised 5,012,000 in November to 5,002,900 in December. […]

Appellate judge speaks to local GOP

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor Earlier this month, members of the U.S. House of Representatives read the Constitution. On Friday, Ohio Third District Court of Appeals Judge John Willamowski gave fellow Republicans some sense of what the first section of the Constitution is all about. Judge Willamowski, one of four judges that hear appeals for the Lima-based […]

Longtime Municipal Court clerk retires

Longtime Van Wert Municipal Court employee Beverly Mercer recently retired after 22 years of service with the court. Mercer, who started as a part-time employee with the court in 1988, was made a full-time clerk shortly afterwards. In 2002, she was named chief deputy clerk for Van Wert Municipal Court. Municipal Court Clerk of Courts […]